


Some girls played with barbies… others took fencing lessons.

by evelitan



Category: Bearing and Wells, Warehouse 13
Genre: F/F, Fencing, Foil - Freeform, Happy Ending, Mc Phearson makes an appearance, fencing terms, possibly mild angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 11:27:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20692748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evelitan/pseuds/evelitan
Summary: Bearing and Wells fencing AU. I've had this in my head for a while now and finally decided to put it into writing.Myka is an ex secret agent moving to South Dakota to get away from the crazyness of DC after a relationship ended badly. Getting to know the inhabitants of Univille will prove to be an ineresting adventure for Myka that just wants to work in her bookshop and retake fencing once again.Let's see how it goes from here.





	Some girls played with barbies… others took fencing lessons.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Thank you guys for giving this story a chance, fair warning, I've used some fencing slang and I'll attach a "dictionary" to the words and phases at the end notes of every chapter. As always, I appreaciate each every kudos and I'm greatuful for every comment you decide to leave. This is planned to be a multi chapter work (around 3 or 4 chapter max) and I'll try and post regularly. I'll post this story even if there were only one person who wants to read it but if you guys are interested in reading it please let me know. Thank you and enjoy!

A door, a simple, wooden, door was the only thing that separated Myka’s worlds. The rain outside of the building was raging with all the mighty ire of angry old Gods and the wind trashed the trees from side to side, shedding mercilessly their golden leaves. Myka Bearing ran quickly under the downpour, the several meters between her car and the door of the old gym seemed like a kilometer-long run.

  


Hanging on her left shoulder was a gym bag filled with spare clothes, a towel, and a shampoo but the most important thing she carried was strapped to her back, feeling its familiar weight was comforting for Myka. However, she was deeply annoyed at her luck that late afternoon, the rain could damage her most prized possession and all because the weather app on her phone had predicted a 2% chance of rain and she deemed it unnecessary to take an umbrella with her.

  


_ “2% my ass!” –  _ Myka had thought at least a thousand times since the first raindrops began falling on her windshield. The sky above her head was covered in thick black clouds that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and now it seemed like a repeat of the Genesis flooding.

  


So there was Myka now, just tumbling through the doors of the gym to where her GPS had guided her, there was a small hall with an empty desk and a chair behind it, perhaps it was for the secretary of the building. The walls were painted in minty green and numerous trophies and medals hang around, presenting a proud assembly of achievements to any newcomer. Even though the building was an old one, the inside atmosphere was warm and welcoming.

  


“Hello?” – Myka said out loud, trying to figure out if she should just go up the stairs on her right or through the set of doors a few meters right in front of her.

  


“Helloo?” – Myka tried again but nobody seemed to be around so she had to venture a guess. When she spoke with the trainer on the phone, he didn’t mention anything about going up the stairs, so she walked forward and pushed the wooden doors open.

  


The second she stepped inside and saw the flight of stairs leading her down, she knew she had made the right choice, hearing the clash of metal against metal, the loud beeps from a machine and the unmistakable heavy steps in the distance. Following the noises, she reached a long hallway with two rooms on each side of her, one with a sign that read “Men” and the other, right in front, “Women”.

  


Myka stepped into the changing room and found another set of girls already dressed in sweatpants and sporty t-shirts, it was obvious they had no idea what awaited them or they wouldn’t have chosen this particular attire for practice. Having trained already many years before, Myka was well aware of how easily the foil could pierce the fabric of the sweatpants and leave a nasty bruise behind.

  


“Hello.” – She said as she entered and suddenly all of the girls turned to look at her.

“Hi!” – A young, enthusiastic redhead jumped in front of her.

  


“Are you new as well? I haven’t seen you before so you must be.” – The girl said with a smile on her face.

  


“We’ve only been here twice before Claudia.” – Another girl sitting behind her spoke, she looked older than the redhead though, perhaps she was around twenty seven years old, just like Myka.

  


“Still, I’ve met everyone that trains here since Josh started and that was years go.” – The girl said in response, still keeping the friendly smile on her face.

  


“I’m Claudia, this old lady that’s still having troubles lacing her shoes is Leena…” – Claudia said and gestured to the woman that had spoken previously.

  


“And these are Vanessa and Abigail.” – The girl added, gesturing to the other two women as well, one of them seemed older than Myka and the other, she seemed to be in her early fifties but she had maintained a perfect physical shape.

  


“Hello.” – Both women greeted her as well and after a quick look from head to toe, they returned to their conversation once more.

  


“I’m Myka and yes, I am new here, I just moved to Univille a week ago.” – Myka said returning the smiles.

  


“Welcome then! This town isn’t the most exciting one, actually, it’s pretty boring but we have the best fencing instructor.” – Claudia said while Myka was pulling up her white fencing pants.

  


“Come on girls, time to go pick those foils already!” – Vanessa appeared behind Claudia and Leena, ushering them to the door.

  


“These two are so chatty that they always come first and get to the actual training last.” – Abigail laughed as she explained.

  


Myka chuckled as well and retrieved the plastic chest protector from her bag.

  


“Do you mind helping me out with this?” – She said and put her arms through the straps.

  


“Sure!” – Abigail expertly did the clasp and Myka was quickly putting on the white jacket and the foil  _ lamé _ .

  


“Looking good, Myka, I’m having a feeling you’ll be quite the opponent.” – Abigail teased her as they made their way to the training grounds, each holding securely her foil. 

  


“I used to fence, a very long time ago, I’m not sure I even remember anything.” – Myka laughed it off.

  


She hadn’t picked a foil in seven years and even though her job as a federal agent kept her reflexes sharp, Myka knew she’d have many, many bruises on her in the following months. 

  


Walking with Abigail to where the  _ pistes _ were and there she saw a couple of more fencers, all of them men, only one of which wore training gear as Myka, Vanessa, and Abigail.

  


“Guys, this is Myka! She’s new to Univille.” – Claudia jumped up from the bench she was sitting at as soon as Myka and Abigail got closer to them.

  


“Claudia leave Myka alone.” – One of the men picked Claudia up by the waist before she could go stand by Myka’s side, he had the same eyes as the young redhead and chin, almost identical smiles as well.

  


“Josh! Let me down!” – Claudia squirmed a little before he finally put her on the ground again, running towards another man sitting beside Leena.

  


“Hello Myka, I’m Joshua, Claudia’s older brother.” – He approached her and extended his hand.

  


“Nice to meet you, Josh.” – Myka shook his hand with confidence.

  


“Nice to meet you Myka, I’m Pete.” – The second man introduced himself, he was struggling to extend the cabled from his right sleeve to his foil.

  


“Pete, you’ll break this set as well if you don’t stop pulling!” – The young man, barely older than Claudia, stood up from his seat beside Leena and went to help Pete with the cables.

  


“Thanks, Jinxy, you’re a life-saver man!” – Pete said once the other man had finished putting the cables in their places.

  


“Hi Myka, I’m Steve, but my friends call me Jinx.” – He said and shook her hand as well.

  


The group of eight was talking animatedly between them, waiting for their coach to tell them to line up. Arthur Nielsen was one of the greatest instructors in the whole country, according to some he was even the best but had retired many years ago after a scandal with another fencer, McPhearson, that ended in punches being thrown around and a black card for Arthur. A nasty affair, at the time it had made every newspaper’s first page but it was an affair from the past and one that nobody dared to bring up ever again.

  


Out of the corner of her eyes, Myka could hear the clash of metal again, the same sound that she heard when she first walked through the doors. Looking around them, she saw another set of  _ pistes _ on the other end of the gym and a pair dueling against each other.

  


The two figures in the distance were locked in a vicious bout from the looks of it, they both attacked and defended equally fast and even though their breathing was erratic, they kept going.

  


“ _ Touché! _ ” – The trainer that was currently their referee shouted loudly.

  


“H. G wins.” – He declared almost sad about it and didn’t even wait for the final salute after the bout, turning around instead, to walk to where the group had gathered.

  


Myka had unintentionally tuned out the vivid conversation and laughs of the people around her, she was watching the two fencers dueling in a bout. One of them was shorter than the other, they were wearing regular white gear, except for their socks and shoes that were Nike emerald edition. Judging by the ponytail that was showing under the back of the face mask, they were a woman. Myka had been in awe with her technique from the moment she saw them dueling, her movements were graceful but vicious at the same time, she was decisive, never hesitating and taking risks. Some of her attacks were risky and ended up costing her a point but as a whole, she seemed to have mastered the art of fencing to the T.

  


Slowly taking her mask off, Myka saw the woman fully turn towards her and could appreciate her red cheeks and disheveled raven black hair, noticing a rebellious lock fall on her right side. The other fencer seemed to be a little bit taller than Myka herself and when they removed the mask, Myka saw a rather good looking, blonde man with blue eyes. Both still struggling to take deep breaths and silently retreating to the bench where Myka herself was still standing.

  


“Myka?” – She registered her name being called out by Claudia but her mind was lost in the way Helena had moved during her bout.

  


“Myka!” – This one was louder and belonged to Pete who was gesturing her to the line.

  


Without noticing it, everyone around her had already lined up beside the  _ piste _ closer to them and the trainer was just making his way to them when Myka quickly chastised herself for getting distracted and ran up to stand in the line.

  


“Hello everyone. Miss Bearing, I’m glad you could join us today. Let’s begin with some running and stretching ok? Vanessa, you lead.” – Artie said and didn’t even wait to turn around and join wordlessly the other two fencers that were now sitting on the bench, watching the group run and stretch.

  


“Alright, that’s enough. Now, as usual, form a line and let’s do some blade drills. Josh, you’re up.” – Artie said and sat again.

  


Everyone formed a line again and Joshua ran in front of them showing everyone how they were supposed to follow him.

  


He began with the easy stuff, gradually getting to the more difficult ones, two steps and touch, two steps and lunge, two steps then parry and lunge, two steps and arrow. The group of seven was moving forward and backward, each of them had their own rhythm and the couldn’t maintain the line straight no matter how much they tried. The only ones that were able to keep up with Joshua’s rhythm were Vanessa and surprisingly enough, Myka.

  


“Good job guys, two minutes break and we start with the assaults.” - Joshua said and dismissed the group, Claudia and Steve running quickly to their water bottles.

  


“You have some moves Myka.” – Abigail teased her as she continued stretching slowly.

  


“Muscle memory I suppose.” – Myka said and laughed.

  


Myka looked around to see if Artie was coming back to them and noticed the man sitting on the bench looking at her and smiling and she smiled back.

  


“I was wondering when you’d see him.” – Abigail said and gestured to the bench.

  


“He and his partner have been watching us all the time, who are they anyway?” – Myka said.

  


“Oh come on, you’re blushing and you don’t know who that man is?” – Abigail asked incredulously.

  


“We did just run drills Abigail and should I know who he is?” – Myka reminded her and asked.

  


“Yeah, yeah. This is Sam Martino, he is in the Olympics team, he won bronze last time. This year Artie is training him for nothing less than the gold.” – Abigail told her as if she was whispering the most guarded secret of all times.

  


“He’s cute right?” – Abigail urged again.

  


“Maybe. I’m just here to train.” – Myka said and moved back to the rest of her group.

  


“Everyone, pair up please.” – Artie instructed as he came back.

  


“Today some of you will touch their weapons for the first time, please try not to kill each other. You have 5 min. per assault or until one of you reaches 10 points, you change partners after every assault. Your assaults will be judged by the two senior fencers, they count the wins and losses. Pete if you let your foil slip again, I’ll personally glue your hand to the hilt!” – Artie yelled that last one and Pete’s ears got as red as a tomato, leaving everyone else chuckling at the thread.

  


“Myka, wanna go first?” – Claudia asked happily coming up behind her.

  


“Let’s do it, Claud.” – Myka said and took the cables from the upper corner of the  _ piste _ , carefully connecting it to the ones on her left side.

  


The blonde man that had been looking at her more and more stood between them.

  


“Ladies! I’m Sam, I’ll be your referee.” – He said with a charming smile directed to both of them.

  


“Claudia.” – The young girl nodded.

  


“Myka.” – She introduced herself as well and saluted Sam before putting on her mask, laughing when Claudia fumbled with hers in order to copy her action.

  


“Touch, please.” – Sam said and both women took a turn trying their equipment, when a green and a red light shone from the panel between them, they were all set to begin the assault.

  


“ _ En-garde. _ ” – Sam said loudly so that both girls could her him with their masks on.

  


“ _ Pret.”  _ – Sam said again, giving both girls a final nod with his head.

Both Myka and Claudia flexed their knees, put one foot in front of the other and while Claudia left her left hand on her hip, Myka lifted hers halfway.

  


“ _ Allez!” _

_   
_

Although Claudia tried to keep up with Myka, very soon it became clear that the curly agent was simply better than her. Myka’s moves were more mellow and polished, far from Helena’s but definitely rivaling those of Vanessa. Myka had no problem with handling the foil while poor Claudia was still trying not to let it slip her hand from the tougher attacks.

  


“ _ Touché! _ ” – Sam said after Myka landed her final attack, thus finishing the assault 10 – 2, giving Claudia a friendly smile when they finished and shaking her hand.

  


“Dude! That was awesome!” – Claudia congratulated her in her own way.

  


“Thank you, Claud, I guess I’m not as rusty as I had initially thought.” – Myka said back with a smile.

  


“Not as rusty? I’d say you are far from rusty, Myka.” – Sam walked up to them and said to Myka.

  


“I… I used to fence a long time ago.” – She added while Claudia was already making her way to another pair of fencers and Pete was walking toward Myka and Sam.

  


“It shows. You have a very good posture.” – Sam said smiling at her again.

  


“Thanks.”

  


“Hey Mykes, ready to play?” – Pete came up to them and began attaching the cables on his foil and foil  _ lamé.  _

_   
_

The first assault, everyone thought Myka was lucky, yes, she had a good posture and was quick with her movements, but her parry was not always as strong and her opponent scored a few points. By the time Myka had defeated Pete, Leena, Abigail and Steve, even the elusive woman in emerald socks and shoes couldn’t help but glimpse at her when she wasn’t looking.

  


Sam stood by her side the whole time, talking with her and supposedly doing his job as a referee when Artie came to them and yelled to switch places.

  


“Martino, you look like you’re glued to that spot, move it! You’re there to teach them not to flirt with them!” – Artie said and this time Myka blushed.

  


The only person left to have an assault with was Vanessa and she seemed to be talking with the raven-haired fencer. So far, Myka had four victories under her belt and she was eager to see if she could make them five. She was feeling so high from feeling the weight of the foil in her hand and her recent victories that she barely even paid attention to anything but her opponent and occasionally to the woman who still hadn’t talked to her.

  


“You’re doing marvelous so far Myka.” – Vanessa spoke as she put on her glove.

  


“Thank you, Vanessa, I am really happy to be practicing again.” – Myka said with a sincere smile.

  


“Less talking, more fencing.” – The woman with the emerald socks said as she moved passed them, to say that the weather outside was less mean than she was would’ve been a big understatement.

  


“Touch please.” – She said in a leveled voice and when she saw the lamps flicker in their respective colors continued.

  


“ _ En-garde. _ ” – She said and both fencers saluted her, Myka was deeply surprised when she returned her salute with a regal nod of her head.

  


“ _ Pret.”  _

_   
_

“ _ Allez!” –  _ She said and while Myka’s mind had stopped working momentarily as she wondered about the woman’s elegant, British accent, Vanessa’s foil touched her, sinking into her shoulder.

  


“ _ Touché.”  _ – The arbiter announced.

“ _ En-garde. _ ”

“ _ Pret.”  _

“ _ Allez!” _

_ _

And so, the game was afoot and this time Myka managed to get her head back to the assault, there was time to look at the British woman after that.

  


This time, however, when the final “ _ Touché”  _ was heard, it was Myka that was losing to Vanessa 9 – 10 and even though she lost, Myka took her mask with a huge smile on her face and a drop of sweat coming down her forehead.

  


“Keep your head in the moment, Myka.” – Vanessa told her with a smug smile that all but said “ _ I caught you” _ after they disconnected the cables from the machine.

  


The group of eight began making their way back to the changing rooms and Sam went to Myka’s side again.

  


“So, Myka, Claudia tells me you’re new in Univille. Would you like to go out for a drink? All of us are going to the bar nearby for a beer when we finish here.” – Sam asked her with a charming smile.

  


“Sure, why not?” – Myka accepted and saw the British woman making her way past all the others, only saying goodbye to Abigail and Vanessa. When she looked at Myka though, she quickly averted her gaze and walked first into the women’s changing room.

  


“I don’t think your partner likes me too much.” – Myka said with a small laugh, the last thing she wanted was to come between two people.

  


“My what?” – Sam asked with wide eyes.

  


“Oh, you mean Helena?” – He finally seemed to have caught up.

  


Now, Myka knew the name of the mysterious British woman, Helena, now she only had to figure out why Helena found her so antipathic.

  


“Helena is not my partner, we just train together, she’s not very social don’t pay attention to her. She thinks she’s the best and anyone that’s not is not worth her time. My best friend Nate and her, they used to go out back in the day but she decided he wasn’t worth it.” – Sam sneered.

  


“Don’t worry though, she won’t be joining us later but  _ I’ll _ be there.” – He said with a sweet smile.

  


Myka could feel a sense of inexplicable disappointment in his words, surely, she should’ve been alleviated to know that Helena wouldn’t be there, after all, she had shown to be rather rude.

  


“Yeah, I… actually, I forgot I have an early start tomorrow. Maybe next time though.” – Myka said and entered the changing room, if she had to see one more of those sweet, tooth-rotting smiles she’d have probably vomited right there.

  


When Myka got out of the showers, the group had already made their way out of the gym and Myka was pretty sure she was the last one still changing until she turned the corner and saw Helena lacing her shoes as well, ready to get out of the gym.

  


“Goodnight.” – Myka said as she passed her, not really expecting an answer but Helena seemed to live to surprise.

  


“Goodnight.” – Helena spoke with a neutral voice.

  


** *the next day – 7:30 am* **

**   
**

_ Beep Beep Beep Beep _

_   
_

Myka’s sleepy mind registered the faint sounds coming from her phone, not remembering even when she had set the alarm last night. It took her a moment to will her body to move and when it did she regretted it deeply. She had been out of the secret service for a little over four months now and after last night’s intense workout, even the locks of her hair were sore. If she could only stay in bed this morning… but the bookshop wouldn’t open itself.

  


Counting to ten, Myka took a deep breath, summoning all her strength to at least getup and sit on the bed and then she would go from there, step by step.

Wobbling until she got to the kitchen, she was glad she splurged on her coffee machine and now had steaming black coffee waiting for her. Life got better after coffee, in most cases anyway, today it was clear that Myka was going to be miserable for the remainder of the day.

  


Once she had finished her coffee, Myka made her way downstairs to her shop. With the money she had received as a reward for her “exemplary bravery” displayed during her last mission, she had bought this two-story house with a bookshop on the first floor and had begun slowly rebuilding its former glory.

  


Around 9:30 am, Myka was already asking if it would be such a bad thing if she just closed the bookshop for today and just relax with her favorite edition of “The Time Machine”, because of the rain, no customers had shown up yet and judging by the empty streets that wouldn’t change any time soon, it was getting even worse outside. 

  


Just as Myka went to switch on the kettle in the small living room that was on the same floor, the bell above the door of the bookshop rang. 

  


“Hello?” – A hesitant female voice called out and Myka ran outside again or at least tried to.

  


“Hello!” – She said with an enthusiastic voice, she loved talking with clients that entered her store. In the age of computers, robots and global warming, there were still people that dreamt with adventures with hot air balloon, lost tombs and space voyages. 

  


“I was wondering if you could help me with…” – The client started talking with that familiar British accent and just at that moment Myka came fully into view and both women stared surprised at each other.

  


“Hi.” – Myka managed to say, craving to hear something more, however many more words she would have the pleasure of hearing spoken in that clear voice.

  


“Hello.” – Helena answered back and stared at the other woman with intrigue in her eyes.

  


“You’re Myka right?” – The Brit was the first to speak up again.

  


“Yes, I… don’t think I’ve told you my name though.” – Myka thought out loud.

  


“Right, sorry darling, Claudia wouldn’t stop talking how “cool” you were the other day.” – Helena explained with a small smile that tugged on her lips. 

  


“My name is Helena Wells.” – She said and extended her hand for Myka to shake, which she did with a small smile in return.

  


“I know.” – Myka said and now it was Helena’s turn to look surprised.

  


“Some of the other fencers told me yesterday.” – Myka explained.

  


“Ah, I imagine Sam told you what a horrible person I am then?” – Helena asked but the small smile was still present on her face.

  


“Let’s just say he’s not your biggest fan.” – Myka laughed but neither woman wanted to further this conversation when in theory they could be interrupted at any moment.

  


“You’re open right? I mean, I saw the sign on the door said  _ Open _ ?” – Helena asked, suddenly aware that there was no one around them and the lights were off.

  


“Yes!” – Myka said too quickly.

  


“I mean, I was just about to close, because of the weather, I don’t think people feel very inclined to leave their homes with this downpour. But since you managed to beat the weather to get here, please stay as long as you want.” – Myka offered.

  


“I’m from London Myka.” – Helena laughed.

  


“It would take something much stronger than rain to keep me from going out.” – She added and Myka laughed as well.

  


South Dakota’s autumns were far from dry but what was happening outside the bookshop was not something normal either. The wind had taken down large tree branches and the bolts of lightning adorned continuously the dark sky.

  


“I don’t mind coming back another day though, I wouldn’t want to impose on you, especially when you had already decided to close for the day.” – Helena said.

  


“Seriously, it’s no problem. You said earlier that you needed some help with something…?” – Myka asked Helena trying to keep the other woman from leaving in this weather. For some reason, she wasn’t ok with the aspect of Helena walking out under this rain. 

  


“I just needed help with finding the Arthur Conan Doyle’s section, I’m looking for a copy of the Lost World.” – Helena said.

  


“Follow me, I have just the edition for you.” – Myka said and walked with Helena until they reached said shelf.

  


“It’s beautiful! How did you manage to find this early copy in such pristine conditions?” – Helena asked curiously.

  


“I have my sources.” – Myka smiled and at this moment heard the loudest thunder she had ever heard coming from the outside.

  


“Hey, look, why don’t you stay for a cup of tea?” – Myka asked without really thinking about how her offer could be interpreted.

  


“I… I mean if you want of course, as I said I don’t think any more clients will show up with this weather. You can wait for a little bit until the storm settles down a bit.” – Myka offered slightly panicking of what and how she was saying it. One of the best fencers she had ever met was standing in front of her and she was incapable of putting together a whole sentence…  _ “Get a grip Myka, you’re not a teenager anymore.” _ – She chastised herself.

  


“Okay, thank you.” – Helena said and this time the smile on her face seemed just a little bit brighter as Myka gestured to follow her.

_ TBC _

**Author's Note:**

> I've taken the english meaning of the words from : https://www.myactivesg.com/Sports/Fencing/How-To-Play/Fencing-for-Beginners/Fencing-terminology 
> 
> But to make it easier, I'll copy the meaning of the words I used here: 
> 
> Allez  
‘Allez’ is the French word for ‘go’, and in fencing terms, it is the word that the referee uses to start a bout.
> 
> Assault  
An assault in fencing refers to a friendly game between two fencers, where scores may or may not be kept.
> 
> Black Card  
The black card is the most severe of punishments in fencing, and is issued when a fencer has committed a serious infraction. If a fencer gets a black card, he is expelled from the game or tournament. While rare, black cards can also be issued to unruly spectators. 
> 
> Bout  
A bout is similar to an assault, with the exception that scores are kept.
> 
> Corps-à-corps  
This refers to bodily contact between the two fencers, and is considered an illegal move in both foil and saber fencing.
> 
> En-garde  
‘En-garde’ is French for ‘on guard’, and is uttered by the referee before the start of the bout to signify to the fencers that they should get into positions
> 
> Foil  
The foil is the second of three fencing weapons, and features a rectangular blade.
> 
> Lamé  
The lamé is an electric conductive jacket worn on the body of the fencers, and is used to score hits electronically.
> 
> Point  
The point of the blade is the only part of the weapon that enables the fencer to score points in foil and epee fencing.
> 
> Pret  
French for ‘ready’, pret is one of the three words that the referee utters before the start of the bout. The sequence goes as follows: en-garde, pret, allez.


End file.
